Kate 'n' Kim: let the baby race begin

Daisy Dumas

There is something droll about the alignment of the Duchess of Cambridge and Kim Kardashian's stars.

Having had column-inch-hoarding engagements and weddings at roughly the same time, the 32-year-olds are both expecting in unison (though Kim's baby is fathered not by her husband, Kris Humphries, but by her boyfriend, Kanye West).

And, from ghoulish composite photo predictions of the new arrivals to most likely baby names (Elizabeth, Diana, George and Charles are all firm favourites for the royal bump), there is (unavoidably) no stone left unturned in the feverish reactions to the K&K embryos, not least for keen gamblers.

Since Monday's confirmation of Kate's due date, and even before Tuesday's announcement of Kim's - both landing somewhere in July - the inevitable has unfolded: bookies are taking bets as to the likelihood of the royal and the pop-royal babes arriving on the very same date.

Odds for both Kim and Kate to give birth on the same day were yesterday 50/1 at the UK's Ladbrokes, and 66/1 at rival bookmaker, Paddy Power, reports the Daily Mail.

Bets are also being taken as the babies' sexes, which may arrive first and whether the babies will share the same birth week.

Never one to miss a media opportunity, Kim has now revealed that her pregnancy was against the odds in another way entirely. Speaking with the Today show in the US, the reality star said she had trouble conceiving.

"It's kind of a miracle that I did get pregnant... I know Khloe has been very open about her fertility issues and I think I was always really kind of quiet about mine - and I have similar issues.

"So it was a pleasant surprise when so many doctors were telling me one thing and then the opposite happens. And that's just an exciting moment, you can't plan for things like that. I think it's just such a blessing knowing my circumstance... The best surprises just happen when you don't plan," she told host Savannah Guthrie.